Hello, I am looking for a 1 gallon mead recipe. I have a 5 pound bottle of honey
that someone gave me after I mentioned mead making, so I was curious
if anyone knew of a 1 gallon recipe that i could use. Thanks, FB

To formulate a recipy, you will have to decide the type of mead you want to make:
Here are the types:

Still or traditional mead: not carbonated, like most wines.
Sparkling: carbonated like champagne or beer.
Melomel: honey and fruit or fruit flavoring.
Methleglin: honey and herbs.
Pyment: honey and grapes.
Cyser: honey and apples.
Braggot: honey and barley malt.

IF you are intending on honey supplying your only source of fermentable material, you can assume the following:

Some people make mead using beer brewing but only boil the honey and water for 5 minutes. Others make mead using wine techniques using campden tablets as a sterilizing agent.

Unlike barley malt, honey does not contain sufficient nutrients for yeast health. Yeast nutrient must be added for a healthy fermentation.

It takes 2.5 -4 lbs of honey for 1 gallon of mead. Acid blend is optional and is used to add tartness to balance the sweetness. Acid blend and nutrients can be added in the boil if you choose to make mead using beer brewing proceedures.

Meads typically take a bit over 30 days to ferment and 60 or more days to age and often continue to improve over the first year.

Ok, After going to my local brew shop and picking up some more eqp. to
get my mead going . I spoke with a guy up there that told me I can make 2 gallons
of mead with the five lbs of clover honey I have. I was thinking of making just plain
ol mead. his instructions were to boil the honey with a little water and keep taking the
krausen off by skimming. then cool , mix with water and seperate to 2 seperate
gallons and add some yeast. does this sound like a winner >>? pretty new to this
and having the extra time and love for my new hobbie is giving me the grounds
to become quite technical about this stuff. I thank you for all the help. FB

"..told me I can make 2 gallons of mead with the five lbs of clover honey.."

Yes, you could, but that is half of what would be required to make mead of a traditional gravity. The other problem is that clover honey is light in flavor to start with. So, the less you use, the less the honey character will show through and it may become dominated by yeast flavor which is NOT a hallmark of mead.

"...instructions were to boil the honey with a little water and keep taking the krausen off by skimming. then cool , mix with water and seperate to 2 seperate gallons and add some yeast.."

Most of the accomplished mead makers DO NOT boil the honey in the water. This makes sense since honey aroma would be completly driven off during a boil and also lead to excessive darkening if boiled very long. Follow the instructions in my last post and you will be happy.

Krausen? - The definition of krausen is the high, rocky head produced during active fermentation. What he is describing is skimming albumin and wax that is brought to the top of the surface by heating.

No matter what else... Boil the FULL volume of water you plan to use in the batch. This is because all of the water must be sterilized and the chlorine and any other precipitable organics need to be driven off. This is CRITICAL in making mead because the light flavor cannot hide these compounds if they are not driven off from the water.

Last note: Your "guy" didn't mention using yeast nutrient... make sure you do or you will be disappointed with the results.

Use a steriliser to clean everything the mead/ingredients may touch (I use VWP) and rinse it all off.
warm the honey in the jars to make mixing easier
heat around half the water in a pot/pan until a rolling boil
take off boil and add required amount of honey
mix honey and water until well blended
remove any floating scum
allow mix to cool to room temperature (while it cools cover to keep sterile)
activate the yeast in a small bowl

once "must" (honey water mix) has cooled to room temp add to demijohn
add remaining water
shake demijohn (carboy) for a decent while to allow plenty of oxygen to mix in
slice orange into segments and add to carboy with raisins
add activated yeast
add bung and airlock bubbler
store somewhere average room temp and in dark
WAIT
check airlock is bubbling after 24 hours (will be getting very active)
wait 30 days (keep an eye on bubbler to make sure still going every few days)
siphon from first demijohn using tube to a second (sanitised) one LEAVE about an inch of
mead in first carboy to avoid any transfer of sediment. It is important to try not
to let too much air mix with the transferring liquid so try not to shake etc.
add bubble lock and age approx 3 month.s repeat as needed to remove sediment if forming on bottom.
put mead into sanitised bottles and cork
lie bottles on sides to age (stopping cork shrinkage)
Age in bottles approx 6 months (the longer the better)